“Sunny Beach” (Procreate) by Emi Le, 13 (Millbrae, CA) and published in the March 2021 Issue of Stone Soup A note from William Today, from me, mostly news—which is appropriate for a newsletter. Exciting news! Our very own Abhi Sukhdial’s novella, Three Days Till EOC, the winner of our 2019 Book Contest, has been long-listed for the Green Earth Book Award under Young Adult Fiction! So, congratulations are in order to Abhi and his family. This news comes just one week after Three Days Till EOC was given a glowing review by author Adam Rex, which you can check out here. Dan Bloom, one of the founders of the cli-fi (climate science fiction) genre and editor of The Cli-Fi Report, wrote in his review of Three Days Till EOC that he, “at the age of 71-going-on-72 enjoyed every page” and proclaimed Abhi “a young writer to watch!” Summer classes: The schedule for summer classes will be sent out toward the end of the week. Like last year, we are teaming up with Naomi Kinsman’s wonderful Society of Young Inklings. I am also very very very excited to be able to tell you that our brilliant editor, Emma Wood, will be teaching a writing class, as will her husband, Conner Bassett, also a published writer and a creative writing instructor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Two other Stone Soup staff are also offering classes: Laura Moran, from the book group, is offering a class that takes an anthropologist’s approach to personal narrative, and Jane Levi is offering a class in food writing. Saturday writing classes will continue during the summer. What if the classes fill? All classes will have a waitlist. Naomi has a number of teachers already on her staff, so we anticipate being able to meet increased demand. Next-session Saturday Writing Classes: Registration is going to open soon for the next session of Saturday Writing Classes. This will take us from April to the summer. The fabulous news is that we are expanding the program! Conner Bassett, who I mentioned above, is going to begin teaching on Saturdays. Conner has a reputation as a brilliant and inspiring teacher. I am so excited that he is joining our team. Registration will open soon for existing students; after existing students are taken care of, we will open registration to everyone else. We are now committed to expanding the program to meet demand. The limit to our expansion, obviously, is the need to retain the same level of quality. Weekend Project: The main problem for me about this newsletter is that, by custom, newsletters are supposed to short and I find short hard to do! The evocative digital painting Sunny Beach by Emi Le is the perfect illustration for Raya Ilieva’s “Sand and Sea.” I really like the ambiguity in Emi’s painting. I live near the Pacific Ocean. She captures the feel of the foam advancing (or retreating) from the sand. Please please please read Raya’s “Sand and Sea.” Yes, I cried at the end. But I want you to read the story for the clarity of Raya’s descriptive language. The first paragraph one can say is pure “sense of place.” Note the use of language that creates pictures in our heads—smooth waves, foamy blue sea, empty beach, gritty crystals, etc. Note, too, the description of sand on Kate’s feet. Those of you who have been to the beach will recognize what she says about this. In the next paragraph Kate, the main character, is given a physical description—of her eyes. Brilliantly, Raya ties in her description of Kate’s eyes both with her emotional state—a hint to us of things to come—and where she is. Raya continues with a clear descriptive vision from the beginning of her story to the end. I want you study how Raya brings alive her character and her world. “Sand and Sea” is also a classic in the sense that the problem that Kate is dealing with is one of these life problems that many of us have experienced. So, I’d like you to write a story that begins with a paragraph that sets up the scene where the story is opening; then, in the second paragraph, share with us at least one key aspect of how the character looks, and then let the story flow, trying throughout to be precise with your descriptions. As always, if you feel your work turned out strong, then please go to Stonesoup.com and submit the work so that Emma can consider it for Stone Soup. Until next time, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Georgia, 11, wrote a lovely “Ode to Books.” Do you feel the same way that Georgia does about books? If you were a fruit, what kind would you be? Trevor, one of our bloggers, explains why he thinks his mom would be a Dragonfruit. Check out his post on the blog. Contest, partnership & project news There’s still time to submit to the Monthly Flash Contest. Here’s the prompt for this month, by Contributor Molly Torinus: Write a story set somewhere you’ve never been. It could be set in outer space, Antarctica, or even an alternate reality! And here’s where you can submit your entry. From Stone Soup March 2021 Sand and Sea By Raya Ilieva, 10 (Belmont, CA) Illustration by Emi Le, 13 (Millbrae, CA) Smooth waves of water crested up out of the foamy blue sea and crashed down on the empty beach, rushing out along a darkened strip of sand, and then were sucked back into the depths of the blue ocean. Kate paced the rough sand, gritty crystals coating her bare feet and tickling her ankles. A heavy fog hung over the beach, covering the sky and the air in a thick gray mass that did nothing to help lighten Kate’s mood. Her usually warm light-gray eyes were stormy, dark, and wild and focused on the never-ending expanse of sand and water
Ode to Books by Georgia, 11
Georgia Grace Hoover, 11Fort Worth, TX One thing that I most enjoy, is getting lost among your play. I turn your pages crisp and clean, it’s true! You are my everything! Although I’m not supposed to, I often sneak you into bed. Soon visions of better things, Are dancing through my head. Even though you don’t know it, (as books don’t have any brains) I will always want to hold you tight, through sun, and wind, and rain. When I read ‘bout others problems, it helps me with my own. You’ll be by my side forever, and I’ll never let you go, Books, they are my everything, That’s something you should know. Editor’s Note: Georgia wrote her poem in response to our Creativity Prompt #131.
Saturday Newsletter: February 27, 2021
“Winding Staircase” (Canon Powershot G10), photographed by Jeremy Nohrnberg, 10, (Cambridge, MA) and published in the February 2021 Issue of Stone Soup A note from Caleb I wanted to start out by briefly recognizing the work you continue to do in the Writing Workshop. As a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, I have taken numerous writing workshops, and few come close to the level of genius you routinely display in just thirty minutes. It seems every week your work gets more original, nuanced, and engrossing. I look forward to hearing you read your work again next week. In Jeremy’s photo we look down a winding staircase, a view that could give those with a fear of heights a touch of vertigo. The shot is formatted such that we stare down the barrel of this staircase’s center, the bottom becoming a singular, darkened point, like an inverse tunnel. The result is as striking as it is ominous, made more so by the paradoxical effect of the rug draped over the banister that shifts the perspective from a person standing atop a staircase to a person standing on a rug and looking down, their body perpendicular rather than parallel to the stairs. The photograph asks questions about the nature of perception and what lies in wait for us at the end, challenging whether or not light really does exist at the end of the tunnel. Conversely, in Amber Zhao’s stunning poem “Finishing a Poem,” the speaker reaches a state of bliss as they are finally able to complete their poem, reaching the light at the end of the tunnel of inspiration. For the speaker, writing and living are inexorably linked: “the jagged edge of brokenness / intrudes upon my soul, and dusty fingerprints outline / the soul of this poem.” Moreover, writing is elevated by the speaker to the highest of planes, thereby simultaneously raising the stakes of writing as well as its potential reward, as Amber’s meta-poetic meditation on writing harks back to the concept of the poet as a godlike creator “whose words eclips[e] the sun and moon alike.” Amber’s poem reminds me that like life, the process of writing, while oftentimes long and arduous, brings with it moments that put us in a state of exaltation. So, keeping in mind these two works of art, I ask you what feelings you harbor toward completing a poem, story, or novel: do you relish the sense of satisfaction that comes with seeing something through to the end, or does the end of your writing loom in the distance like the end of a perfect day? Regardless of your feelings on the subject, I want you to take the time this weekend to practice writing endings. You could write a hypothetical ending to something you’ve already been working on, or you could write an ending in and of itself. Let this exercise take you wherever it takes you; I reckon it will be rewarding! Until next time, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Famous author Adam Rex wrote a glowing review of Abhi Sukhdial’s novella, Three Days Till EOC, which won the 2019 Stone Soup Book Contest. The rest of our wonderful author interviews were published this week, including interviews with third-place winner of the 2019 Book Contest Nami Gajcowski and newcomers Shelby Miller and Katie Pausin. Nova, 9, wrote a review of Ellen Hagan’s forthcoming novel in verse, Reckless, Glorious, Girl. Check out Nova’s review to find out why she found it to be a delicious read. From Stone Soup February 2021 Finishing a Poem By Amber Zhao, 10 (Brisbane, Australia) I have carved truth and beauty into yellowed parchment, having created something unique, vital, simple, complex, and bottomless as a fallen flower. The jagged edge of brokenness intrudes upon my soul, and dusty fingerprints outline the soul of this poem. The unbroken stretch of time has not erased these words eclipsing the sun and moon alike. What troubles they must have faced; what creative, poetic troubles would have gnawed on that author—spirit like moss and ivy on a house! Impossible feats are possible viewed the right way, melding dark and light into lines that are like a wishing well and looking glass. These rhymes instill visions that I thought would never come again, and the rhythm beats faster than fire. For me, I find a new renewal in this poem. After years of waiting to write that masterpiece, that pièce de résistance, word after word grasps into touch, paper, and ink to reveal the tide of inspiration. To read more from this issue, click here. Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s Advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.
